Lagat, Simpson Dominate at USA Indoors

Weekly racing recap for Feb. 27

We all want to believe that the indoor season is important. But the fact is, few U.S. pros race the USA indoor championships. Of those that do, it seems like a flip of a coin as to whether they’ll “risk” their outdoor season to compete at worlds, which only further weakens interest in this season at the international level. Despite the lack of a full spectrum of U.S. talent in competition and in spite of the absurd choice to hold distance events at altitude in Albuquerque, N.M.(which USATF, in its infinite wisdom, has just announced that it extended another two years), the 2012 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships served up some good competition over the weekend. Sure, you can argue that once you’re out of college, indoors no longer holds the luster it used to. But competition is competition, and the title of U.S. champion still has an appeal to drew competitors for a solid track meet in the Duke City.

USA Indoor Track & Field Championships – Albuquerque, N.M.

On Saturday and Sunday, 5,312 feet above sea level, some of the top athletes in the U.S. lined up for their shot at a world indoor championships berth, which will be held March 9-11 in Istanbul, Turke. The top two from each event who meet the qualifying standards are offered the opportunity to compete.

First up on Saturday was the women’s 3,000m. After Shayla Houlihan led early, 2011 outdoor world champion Jenny Simpson swung wide and begin to push the pace. With her 2012 U.S. cross country champion Sara Hall and recent college standout Jackie Areson would latch on and separate themselves. Simpson wouldn’t relinquish her lead, and would take her second consecutive title in the distance in 9:19.15. Areson, the 2011 NCAA indoor 5,000m champion while at Tennessee, would pass a fading Hall for the runner-up spot in 9:20.61. Hall was third in 9:21.87. Post-race, however, Simpson stated she would not compete at the world indoor championships.

The men’s 3000m was billed as a showdown between American record-holders Bernard Lagat (indoor 1500m, mile, 3000m, 5000m, outdoor 5,000m) and Galen Rupp (indoor 2-mile, outdoor 10,000m). Much speculation pre-race was made on the disparity of ages (Rupp is 25, Lagat is 37), their record in head-to-head match-ups (Lagat was 11-0), and their recent exchange of national records (Lagat claimed Rupp’s AR in the indoor 5000m; Rupp claimed Lagat’s indoor two-mile). Though Rupp would take the lead from the gun, towing Lagat and two-time USATF 1500m champion Lopez Lomong (2009-10) with him, Rupp would fade late. Lagat would kick a 25-second final 200m to win his third consecutive 3,000m title in 7:47.54, with Lomong next in 7:51.75. It was Lomong’s first time competing at a USA indoors. Rupp was third in 7:57.36.

In Sunday’s men’s 800m final, the New Jersey/New York Track Club, headed by the venerable Frank Gagliano, had three athletes in the total six, but in the end it was Saucony’s Duane Solomon, last year’s USA indoors champ, who would repeat in 1:48.58. Runner-up would go to NJNYTC’s Michael Rutt, an NCAA indoor 800m runner-up in 2011 for UConn, in 1:49.90. Former Oregon Track Club Elite runner Mark Wieczorek, who was sixth in the 800m last year at outdoor nationals, was third in 1:49.96. He finished in the same place last year.

In the men’s 1500m, the stage seemed set for first-year pro Matt Centrowitz, the former Oregon wunderkind who was the 2011 world championships 1500m bronze medalist, to claim his first national title. But it would be 2008 Olympian Leo Manzano, a 3:50 miler outdoors, who would steal the show, winning a tactical race in 3:48.05. Centrowitz was next in 3:48.16 and has declared his intent to race world indoors. Rupp, who was doubling back after the 3,000m the night before, was third in 3:48.44, followed by former world indoor championships competitor Garrett Heath (2010, seventh) in 3:49.59.

In the women’s 1500m, Simpson also doubled back, and also took the win in 4:15.04. As with the 3,000m, it was her second consecutive USA indoor title at the distance. Behind her was Brenda Martinez in 4:15.11. Martinez, a 2009 NCAA Outdoor 1500m runner-up for UC-Riverside, has been on a tear this winter, with wins in the miles at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix and the US Open. Sara Vaughn was third in 4:18.25.

Finally, in the women’s 800m, Erica Moore, a waylaid heptathlete who only ran the 800m after being bumped from the multi-discipline event in 2008, won her first U.S. title in an unopposed 2:01.08 after finishing as runner-up last year. The runner-up this year was last year’s winner and Moore’s training partner Phoebe Wright, who was fourth in the U.S. outdoors last year, in 2:03.07. NJNYTC’s Latavia Thomas was third in 2:04.50.

There is no IAAF World Cross Country Championships this year, which has resulted in some serious depth at some of the world’s better road races this winter. Add in an already competitive race like this one, which adds a deep prize purse to incentivize competition, fast times and records, and you can easily understand the race’s importance. And since Kenyans traditionally dominate in cross country, it was understandably a Kenyan route, with Sammy Kitwara and Vivian Cheruiyot as the men’s and women’s winners, respectively.

In the men’s race, Kitwara, who has now won the race three times (2009, ‘11-12) and ran the fifth-fastest half marathon ever (58:48, Philadelphia, 2011), edged Vincent Chepkok, 28:02 to 28:11. Chepkok was the bronze medalist last year at world cross. Third went to Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea, who is the current world record-holder in the half marathon (58:23), in 28:13. The first American was Ed Moran, a 2:11:46 marathoner in NYC last fall, who finished 12th in 29:49.

In the women’s race, Cheruiyot, the double gold medalist in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2011 world championships (and the 2011 world cross country champion), took out Joyce Chepkirui, 30:47 to 31:09. Chepkirui spend much of her winter racing cross country, and was the winner of the KCB/AK National Cross Country Championships last week in Kenya. In third was Linet Masai, who was the 10,000m bronze medalist last year and, incidentally, was the runner-up at world cross last year, in 31:15. American Shalane Flanagan was the top U.S. finisher in sixth, in a road PR of 32:20, followed by newly-naturalized Adriana Nelson, 15th, in 34:20.

There are two reasons that this race is significant. First, the men’s 3,000m saw a dogfight as the world’s best in the 3000m up to the 5,000m battled it out. The other reason is America’s best 1500m runner, Morgan Uceny, opted out of USA indoors to race a 1500m, along with Anna Pierce.

In the men’s 3000m, Isiah Koech, who at 17 last year was only the fourth man to ever run under 13 minutes in the 5,000m indoors (12:53.29), took the win in a PR 7:33.55 over Dejen Gebremeskel’s 7:34.14. Gebremsekel, most famous in the U.S. after he out-kicked British 2-mile record-holder Mo Farah with one shoe at the 2011 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, was the bronze medalist in the 2011 world championships 5,000m. Augustine Choge, who was second in the 2011 Diamond League 1500m rankings, was third in 7:34.74. World-leading indoor 5,000m-runner Thomas Longosiwa was fifth in 7:37.07.

In the women’s 1500m, Morocco’s Btissam Lakhouad took the win over Tizita Bogale, 4:07.86 to 4:07.88. Lakhouad has spent a few weeks in the U.S. recently, as she was the 1,000m winner at the NBIGP over Uceny, and was the runner-up in the women’s 1500m at the USATF Classic two weeks ago. Uceny, the 2011 Diamond League 1500m champion, was third in 4:08.06, while 2008 U.S. Olympic trials 1500m champion Anna Pierce was a distant ninth in 4:18.91.

Haile Gebrselassie is arguably the greatest runner ever. The question is, is he still? That was the real storyline of the 2012 Tokyo marathon, which also served as an Olympic trials of sorts for Japanese men. And that question seems to have been answered, with Michael Kipyego taking the men’s win.

Gebrselassie seemed to have the win in hand. He had pacers take him through much of the race and then put in his own surge to separate himself from the pack. He was leading at 36K. But then the wheels started to come off. Kipyego, who had competed in the steeplechase and cross country before moving to the marathon and the roads in 2011, would pass Geb first, taking the win in 2:07:37. Then it was Stephen Kiprotich, who would in turn be passed by a late-surging Arata Fujiwara (2:07:48). In the end, Geb would settle for fourth in 2:08:17, his second-slowest marathon ever, and the only one he has completed in the last two years after DNFs in 2010 NYC and 2011 Berlin. Though he was optimistic post-race, the 38-year-old does not seem to have retained the form he once had.